One of the biggest sports car endurance races of the year takes centre stage of the motorsport scene this weekend.
Three Kiwis are in action for the Spa 24 Hour, including two in Team Porsche New Zealand’s debut assault on the race.
Jaxon Evans is at the Hungaroring for the latest round of the Porsche Supercup.
Meanwhile, Cormac Buchanan, Damon Rees and Shane Richardson are at the high speed Thruxton circuit in England for the fourth round of the British Superbike Championship
Spa 24 Hour
- What: Spa 24 Hour
- Where: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
- When: SUN 1 am
- How to follow: YouTube Live Stream
Earl Bamber is out to defend his Spa crown after last year’s dry-to-wet triumph.
However, he will have to do so with a new team after switching to the GPX outfit this year.
Bamber will be racing with Porsche factory drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell this weekend in the Pro Cup class.
Making their Spa 24 Hour debut this weekend is Team Porsche New Zealand crew, which has two Kiwi drivers at the helm.
Earl’s younger brother Will Bamber and former Toyota 86 race winner Reid Harker join forces for the team’s maiden voyage.
The race will be Harker’s first international GT3 race start.
The two will be racing a Porsche 911 GT3 R, whose livery was sketched up by New Zealand designer Jeff Docherty.
Rain is on the radar for the weekend, which could throw a spanner in the works for the field.
Jaxon Evans
- What: Porsche Supercup
- Where: Hungaroring, Hungary
- When: SUN 10.00 pm
- How to follow: Spark Sport
It seems like an age since Jaxon Evans was last in the saddle of his Porsche Supercup machine.
The last round at Austria witnessed the Kiwi star claim his first win of the season and left him second in the driver’s standings.
With only five races remaining in the season, Evans will be striving to stay consistent and take the fight to points leader Larry ten Voorde.
Ten Voorde and Evans are the only two winners this year and are firm title contenders.
Hungary proved to be Evans’ worst round last year.
He collided with another driver in a turn one collision and was dealt a drive-through penalty for the incident.
British Superbike contingent
- What: National Superstock 1000 & Honda Talent Cup
- Where: Thruxton, United Kingdom
- When: R1 SUN 1.15 am & 2 am | R2 SUN 11.30 pm & MON 2 am
- How to follow: Sky Sport
Thruxton is one of the fastest circuits in the UK and one of the more challenging pieces of tarmac to master.
The 3.7km track plays host to the fourth round of the British Superbikes, with our usual trio of Kiwi riders in the support categories.
Superstock riders Damon Rees and Shane Richardson had an average round at Brands Hatch last weekend.
The two didn’t trouble the front runners and finished mid-pack both races.
This weekend marks the middle of a busy few weeks for young New Zealander Cormac Buchanan.
Buchanan is riding in the British Talent Honda Cup, where he is fifth in the championship.
Last weekend, Buchanan claimed a fourth in race one but crashed out on the final lap in race two.
Still, he comes into Thruxton a more experienced rider, and he will be hoping to further hone his skill before returning to the Red Bull Rookies Cup the following weekend.
